There are various carbonaceous materials known in the art. For example, “vitreous” or “glassy” carbon is an amorphous carbon that is gas-impermeable material; and because of its amorphous structure, glassy carbon generates a significantly lower number of particles than graphite. Also, glassy carbon has very low thermal conductivity. Glassy carbon is also very resistant to corrosion by acid and alkaline agents. These properties make glassy carbon an ideal material for various applications including semiconductor processing, electrical, mechanical and chemical analysis industries.
Heretofore, several known processes have been used to prepare vitreous carbon for various applications. For example, JP49027266B discloses that a vitreous carbon can be produced by baking and carbonizing a synthetic resin by heating the resin above its decomposition temperature. Other processes for preparing a vitreous carbon are disclosed in JP63064906A; U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,829; JP8157205A; JP2000095566A; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20030161781A1; U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,108; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,608,367.
None of the above known process utilize an epoxy resin formulation having a low neat viscosity and after curing said formulation providing a high carbon yield; and wherein the composition can be readily purified or treated to provide a very low ash content in the final product.